Poison is Not Polite: exclusive cover reveal + giveaway

Girls solving mysteries is one of my very favorite things! It was great fun for us to host the cover reveal for Robin Stevens’ Murder is Bad Manners last year, so we’re delighted to be hosting her again, this time with the North American cover for the second book in the Wells & Wong series. Daisy and Hazel find themselves in more puzzling predicaments, with the central mystery taking place at a grand old English manor…that just so happens to be Daisy’s home.

Poison is Not Polite won’t be released here until next April 2016, but we have your exclusive first look right here and now–along with the opportunity to win one of the very first ARCs hot off the presses.

Without further ado–here is the fantastic cover!!

It’s wonderful how the designer has changed the color scheme, but you can immediately tell that it’s part of the same series. I love the garden maze and the roses (big surprise here in The Midnight Garden, eh?), I love the stormy background contrasted with the sunny brightness, as well as the sense of playfulness throughout the whole thing. Just by looking at this cover, you can tell that Daisy and Hazel are clearly off to another wonderful adventure!

The author is with us again today to give you a little introduction to the story. It’s going to be so fun to see what scrapes the girls will be getting into next!

5 Things You Should Know About Poison is Not Polite
by Robin Stevens

1. Poison is Not Polite takes place four months after the end of Murder is Bad Manners. We meet the girls again when they go to Daisy’s house Fallingford for Daisy’s birthday – but Daisy’s idea about how to celebrate it is very different from her mother’s.

2. Fallingford House is a proper English country mansion – the Wells family have a butler and a housekeeper, there’s a maze and a monkey puzzle tree in the grounds and the house itself is full of gorgeous antiques and beautiful jewellery. But although everything looks wonderful, Hazel realises that all is not as perfect as it seems. There are secrets at Fallingford, and Daisy’s whole life may be about to change for ever.

3. If you’ve read Murder is Bad Manners carefully, you might be curious about Daisy’s mysterious uncle Felix. He finally appears in Poison is Not Polite, along with the rest of Daisy’s nutty English family. There’s Aunt Saskia, Daisy’s father Lord Hastings and her brother Bertie. They all have their secrets . . . and those secrets might have deadly consequences.

4. Murder is Bad Manners is set at school, and Daisy and Hazel have to balance being detectives with going to lessons. Poison is Not Polite takes place during the holidays, but all the same, Daisy’s parents have hired a governess, Miss Alston, to keep the girls occupied. Could there be more to her than first meets the eye?

5. And finally, if you’re a fan of bunbreaks, you won’t be disappointed. There are plenty of delicious treats in Poison is Not Polite – but you may never think about tea in the same way again after you see what happens to one unpleasant guest at Daisy’s birthday party . . .

Poison is Not Polite by Robin Stevens

Schoolgirl detectives Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are at Daisy’s home, Fallingford, for the holidays. Daisy’s glamorous mother is throwing a tea party for Daisy’s birthday, and the whole family is invited, from eccentric Aunt Saskia to dashing Uncle Felix. But it soon becomes clear that this party isn’t really about Daisy at all. Naturally, Daisy is furious.
Then one of their party falls seriously, mysteriously ill – and everything points to poison.

With wild storms preventing anyone from leaving, or the police from arriving, Fallingford suddenly feels like a very dangerous place to be. Not a single person present is what they seem – and everyone has a secret or two. And when someone very close to Daisy looks suspicious, the Detective Society must do everything they can to reveal the truth . . . no matter the consequences.

Robin Stevens was born in California and grew up in an Oxford college, across the road from the house where Alice in Wonderland lived. She has been making up stories all her life.

When she was twelve, her father handed her a copy of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and she realised that she wanted to be either Hercule Poirot or Agatha Christie when she grew up. When it occurred to her that she was never going to be able to grow her own spectacular walrus moustache, she decided that Agatha Christie was the more achieveable option.

She spent her teenage years at Cheltenham Ladies’ College, reading a lot of murder mysteries and hoping that she’d get the chance to do some detecting herself (she didn’t). She then went to university, where she studied crime fiction, and now she works at a children’s publisher, which is pretty much the best day job she can imagine. Robin now lives in Cambridge with her boyfriend and her pet bearded dragon, Watson.

This book won’t be out until next April 2016–nearly a year from now!–but we have an early advance readers copy to give away to one of our readers as soon as it’s available this fall. All you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form and leave a thoughtful comment below telling us why you’re excited about reading this book OR what some of your favorite children’s mystery books (or series) are.

Open to US and Canadian residents aged 18 and older, or 13 and older with parental permission. See entry form for complete details. Good luck!

Robin is so fun to follow on Twitter, by the way. This red-breasted bird tweets about books she’s reading, bun breaks, and all manner of wonderful things she is doing in England. I enjoy seeing what she’s up to, even if I sometimes seethe with envy all the way over here in the Americas.

This looks like a great book with a lot of promise. It really takes you back to your childhood rears. I especially like the cover. I’d love to interview the author. CheersTony Mendoza recently posted…The Ninth District by Douglas Dorow

This book sounds stupendous. It has a certain charm that I think bring that creepy vibe to the table. It also takes you back to your childhood where everything was exaggerated. Someone also mentioned the cover that is really cool. If anyone knows the author, I’d love to interview her. Cheers!Tony Mendoza recently posted…Thriller Movies

Mena Bova

Mysteries were my favorite things to read as a kid, and still are now! I would steal my mom’s old stash of Agatha Christies, and devour each one. I also loved Chasing Vermer, for the same reason as the commenter below! I can’t wait to read this, whether it’s an ARC or not! : )

Yay :D Stunning post Wendy. <3 And gorgeous cover too. I haven't really looked into book one, but now I feel like maybe I should. Seems like an interesting series :D Thank you for sharing about it sweetie. <3Carina Olsen recently posted…Mini Review: The Hidden Prince by Jodi Meadows

Andrea G

I am such a fan of Murder is Bad Manners and been waiting for info on the US edition of the second in the series, so I was excited to see this post. The cover is beautiful! Love the colors and mood. As for a childs mystery, The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues by Ellen Raskin is a great mystery. It has mystery and art! I also like Chasing Vermer by Blue Balliett because mystery and art!

I love The Westing Game, and while I have an old battered copy of The Tattooed Potato, I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet! Must remedy. I haven’t ever heard of the Blue Balliett book, so thank you for the rec.

I soooo adore this series!! And now I feel like I really must get both the UK and US editions of all the books because I adore them all!! Thank you for sharing this gorgeous new cover and title!

Btw, with your love of flowers and roses and gardens, a lovely napkin at Jenny Han’s launch made me think of you guys at The Midnight Garden, I must see if I managed to pack it so I can share a pic!Pili @ In Love With Handmade recently posted…Friday Reads: ARC Review of Uprooted by Naomi Novik!!!

I love murder mysteries and boarding school books are becoming a quick favorite. I just adored Murder Most Unladylike, and the synopsis of Poison is Not Polite reminds me of our reading of The Westing Game. I wonder why they changed the UK title of Arsenic for Tea to the Poison one? And I really love the cover, roses and the maze, looks wonderful. Can’t wait to read more about Daisy’s family.Brenda recently posted…Classic MG Realistic Fiction: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Yes! The mystery set in a house is very Westing Game/Agatha Christie, it’s delightfully old-fashioned. I’m glad to see books like this publishing now, there was a period when it seemed harder to find books like this for this age group.

They changed both the titles in the series when they published in the US–and honestly, as I read my US version I kept mentally correcting the spelling and text to UK style. I don’t mind the cover or title changes so much as that–as a child, I came about my love for England from reading children’s books that showed me a world different from my own. So I do mourn this trend towards “translating” terminology and language for US audiences, as much as I do like the US covers and titles. *sigh* The only answer is to have both versions, I suppose!Wendy Darling recently posted…BEA 2015: Event Recap + Giveaway

Lucy Hallowell

I loved Murder is Bad Manners and plan to lend it to my niece (but she better give it back!). I cannot wait to find out what Hazel and Daisy are up to next.
Murder is Bad Manners reminded me of all the episodes of Mystery I watched as a kid (we were only allowed to watch PBS).